No. 23 Catholic to Take On Lynchburg in NCAA First Round

WASHINGTON - The Catholic University of America women's basketball team is dancing! The No. 23 Cardinals are set to travel to Christopher Newport University to play Lynchburg College in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament as announced in Monday afternoon's selection show.

Catholic, which boasts a 23-4 overall record, received an at-large bid to the 2017 tournament as they finished 13-1 in the Landmark Conference. On the court, Catholic is led by senior Michelle DeSantis who averages 15.9 points, 4.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds this season. Fellow seniors Bernadette Launi and Melissa Errico have each average over 6.0 rebounds per game while Errico leads the team with 30 blocks.

Lynchburg (22-6) also received an at-large bid after falling in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) finals to Guilford College. The Horners have three double-digits scorers in Charmaine Hairston (13.3), Caroline Naumann (12.2) and Molly Shephard (10.8), and concluded their conference schedule with a 14-2 record.

The Lady Cards and Hornets played one common opponent in the 2017 season, Eastern Mennonite, who fell in the ODAC semifinals. Catholic topped EMU, 78-42, on November 20, while Lynchburg downed the Royals, 89-85, on February 18.

The Cards and Hornets will match up on Friday, March 3, in Newport News, Va., for the opening round of the NCAA DIII Tournament. Check back at cuacardinals.com for tip-off time.

The winner of the First Round matchup will take on the victor of host and No. 11-ranked Christopher Newport and Staten Island.